John Banville's Dublin

John Banville joins historian Donal Fallon to discuss his own Dublin, and how the city has shaped his writing over the years.

Capturing the atmosphere, sense of place and key social issues at play in Christine Falls, John Banville vividly evokes Dublin in the 1950s. His memoir Time Pieces offers a more personal map of the city, described as a “vivid evocation of childhood and memory,” spanning Baggotonia to Henrietta Street. The author joins historian Donal Fallon (Three Castles Burning podcast) to discuss his own Dublin, and how the city has shaped his work over the years.

John Banville was born in Wexford in 1945. He is the author of many novels, including The Book of Evidence, the 2005 Booker Prize-winning The Sea, Venetian Vespers and the bestselling Strafford and Quirke crime series, which has twice been shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger.

Donal Fallon is an historian and broadcaster. The presenter of the Three Castles Burning podcast, he has worked on the RTÉ series Brainstorm and the popular Hidden Histories slot for Newstalk’s On The Record.His books include a history of Dublin’s Phoenix Park, The Dublin Pub and Three Castles Burning: A History of Dublin in 12 Streets.He is currently Historian in Residence at 14 Henrietta Street.

This event is part of this year's One Dublin One Book initiative, which aims to encourage everyone in Dublin to read a designated book connected with the capital city during the month of April every year. This year's selection is Christine Falls by John Banville. This annual project is a Dublin City Council initiative, led by Dublin City Libraries and Dublin UNESCO City of Literature and supported by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport.

See the full 2026 programme here.

Copies of Christine Falls (Faber) are available to borrow from all Irish public libraries in physical format and in digital format as eBooks and eAudiobooks via the Borrowbox app.